LastPommerFan

Because the public health impact of a widespread vaccination scare could be catastrophic and the CDC and NIH have the job of protecting the public, not individuals. That said, I have the vaccines for my sons spaced out, never more than one in a month. This so we can monitor the effects.

The next 105 hours.

Just trying to get in on the new fad of posting here on a friday... A fitting place for my 500th post :)

but if we don't listen to celebrities, who will tell us how to think?

I developed a chronic cough when I moved out here to cincinnati (terrible air) and no one seemed to be able to figure anything out, but my physician put me on Singulair a couple years ago, and it has been an absolute wonder drug for me. It works like an anti-histamine, but it blocks a different protein, one that gets the surface of the lungs over excited. Not sure if you've been down that road, but it might be worth a look.

My apologies, I thought you were making that claim. Figured based on your negative reference to Gore that you were trying to deny that atmospheric composition is a primary cause of global climate change augmenting the cyclical changes in cosmic energy fields. "It's a Jump-to-conclusions-mat.."

Changes in solar activity are a cause of global climate change. Therefore they are the ONLY cause of global climate change? My wife spends a lot of money on shoes. Therefore my gambling addiction is not a cause of our financial distress...

Speaking from inside the aviation industry, the odds off this happening are extremely low. They are slightly higher for chartered planes, and slightly higher still for planes not based out of western countries. Still, however, the odds are extremely low, I would not be surprised if this was the last tragedy like this that we saw in our lifetimes. At least, I hope.

If not too late, I'd like to get on board.

So the OB/GYN office that my wife goes two has 4 docs. 3 are absolutely awesome. One is the son of the guy who started the practice 50 years ago and is a complete pompous ass. Of course (Murphy's Law) he was on call yesterday when my wife went into labor. Guy had a couple of c-sections on his schedule, so he decided he wanted to induce my wife so her labor would fit the schedule better. My wife had a terrible experience with an induction with our first, and was already in a good labor pattern. He started bringing up a bunch of rare issues that can come up and why he wanted to give her drugs to speed things up. I mentioned that the things he was talking about where rare and often genetically linked and there was no history in either of our families, and he decided to tell us that we needed to have the best interests of the baby in mind, not our own. Cause yeah, as a parent I totally don't care about my child's well being. She almost fired him on the spot and went with the resident OB at the hospital. We told him to go do his next Cesarean and check back with us. We told the nurse what we were thinking and she apparently told him, because and hour later he came back with his tail between his legs and agreed to let things progress naturally. Arrogant doctors suck. NON-COMPLAINT: Everything went smoothly after that :)

Even Better Live

Complaint: Waiting for things.

The problem with party and politics in this country is not the politicians. It can't be, we actually have reasonably accountable elections commissions that do a pretty good job at getting 100 million plus people a chance to have their say. The problem is not the special interests either. I say this because my money is my money and if I want to spend it on an ad comparing GWB to the Hamburgler I will and you won't stop me. The problem in this country can be summed up in a millenia old biblical analogy. We (The American People) are sheep. The leaders are just the ones who've figured out how to be shepherds. We hear the fear mongering - "They'll have to teach Gay Intercourse in 4th grade Health Class!" or "they'll sell your mother to the arabs for another drop of oil!"- and we buy it every time. There is no political due diligence in this country, none. And until there is a critical mass of people savvy enough to learn an issue before forming a hardened opinion on it, we will be in the same state of affairs we've been in since the 1880s. WE ARE SHEEP. I see only one shortcut to improved civics in this country. A Constitutional Amendment that both limits undisclosed political funding (i would not limit the funding, just ensure disclosure) and sets term limits for the house (4 terms) and senate (2 terms). This amendment will NEVER be proposed by the congress, so the only chance is to get 34 state legislatures to approve the proposal and force a ratification vote. This is not out of the realm of possibility, but it's going to need a coordinated national effort to put pressure on state legislatures. /soapbox

My Complaint: Subtle racism. Blatant Racism replaced by Subtle Racism is NOT an improvement.

more realistic...

What if it was in the ladies room at IHOP?

Diluting alcohol is absolutely acceptable. The bottle proof is simply the starting point. People have been dilluting liquor and wine for thousands of years. I suggest the book A History of the World in Six Glasses to everyone on this thread. Exceptional review of the global impact of alcohol and caffeine based beverages. I recieved it as a christmas present a few years ago in a basket witha bottle of italian wine, a six pack of Southern Tier beer, a bottle of Makers Mark, a can of english tea, a pound of sumatran coffee and a 20 oz coke. Best christmas present ever.

Great Flavored Beer from my region (and a tie in to the Whisk(e)y thread: Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale It's a dark ale aged in old bourbon barrels with whole vanilla beans. It's also delicious. Definately a "dessert" beer.

HEAT. that is all.

You are, of course, correct. The mash makes the sweetness difference in the Rum, but it is likely the fermentation heat and/or distillation practices that cause the gut rot pain.

Assuming that they distill it to the same rules as the US (this may be a stretch) the distillate is only 80% ethenol. That other 20 percent can make a HUGE difference, smooth wheat Bourbons vs sharp rye Bourbons for example. I imagine having a sugar as powerful as cane would create some incredible congeners and fusel oils. in the ferment. I imagine yeast on crack.

While I am a Whiskey Drinker, my brother and his wife are rum drinkers. While they were down in mexico last summer, they purchased what they thought would be a good compromise beverage. It is a Nicaraguan Rum called "Flor de Cana". It is distilled from molasses, but then the distillate is aged 5 years in charred oak barrels. It has the color of whiskey. I finally got around to opening it, but I had no idea what to make with it. It is WAY to sweet to drink straight. I got inspired and went out back to the herb patch and grab a bunch of fresh mint and made what I will call a Mojulep (soft J). It was actually quite refreshing. I think, however, that I like rum even less now. It has to mascaraed as whiskey to even have a chance.

New popular stuff?Billboard New good stuff (takes a bit more searching? indie rock cafe Another great method is to put one song everyone likes into pandora and listen until you find another one.

better

Yeah, I've just seen so many writers argue that they belong in the category because the mashbill matches that of bourbon (>50% corn) and they are aged in New Oak Barrels at similar barrel proofs. But You can't pour a liquid through a 10' tall pillar of maple charcoal and not significantly changes the properities pre barrel. I guess I'm arguing with people who aren't even here...again... JD is a bourbon according to NAFTA and The Truthiness of Wikipedia.